Old China Patterns

3 Comments

1. javi034
   09/13/2010 at 6:44 pm

   jajaj awebo ke eres salvadoreño askeroso jajaja habla lo que quieras pero son tan pendejos ke enian todo para clasificar y por andar habriendo el ozico van a kedar fuera jajaj con sus 5 puntitos culeros jaja

2. Bram Weiser
   09/23/2010 at 3:18 am

   To Kyla (#14)…or anyone else who’d like to comment,

3. BiscuitCrisps
   10/01/2010 at 9:22 am

   My somewhat tortured opinion: As an American, I’ve been endlessly frustrated by Bradley’s favoritism, and dedication to a certain core of players (Sacha Kljestan, DaMarcus Beasley, Jonathan Bornstein, Marvell Wynne, and even Jozy Altidore), picking them when he had better options on the table, and maddeningly refusing to play the best guys he had. It took a Michael Bradley injury for Jay DeMerit to get play time, and it took a Charlie Davies car wreck for Gomez and Buddle to even get noticed. I hate his set-piece and defend-and-counter style, and it relies far too heavily on Dempsey, Donovan, Howard, and Bradley putting in Herculean performances (largely to overcome the weakness of the strikers, and fullbacks). Having said that, for some reason or another, the US manages to snatch last-minute ties that keep us alive. Should Bradley get credit for the 2007 Gold Cup win? Yes Should Bradley get credit for finishing top of the Hex? Yes Should Bradley get credit for the nice run at the Confederations Cup? Yes Should Bradley get credit for finishing top of the group in WC2010? Yes But, Bradley should also be blamed for the loss to Ghana, and the terrible Gold Cup 2009 final loss (5-0!), and numerous other ugly defeats in friendlies, and ties in games that matter. But, having said all of this, I can see a European squad looking at Bob and saying: “Wow, he did an awful lot with a pretty thin talent pool, better decisions could have been made, but, consider that he ran a squad with the equivalent of a 10 million dollar salary. Imagine what he could do with a squad with a 100 million dollar salary!” So, for say, a mid-table squad like Fulham, Bradley actually looks okay. He can win matches with inferior squads, and works pretty cheaply. He can get a Fulham a regular spot in the Europa League, and I believe he’d do so regularly. And finally, Bradley’s addicted to a system. His system works beautifully when he’s got the right players (Charlie Davies, for example), but fails miserably when those players are injured, as he can’t adapt. In Europe, Bradley can go hire the right players for his system. Is he predictable, sure? But can he win with a mid-table team? Absolutely.